Sustainability

In order for local actors to truly lead the development process, civil society organisations (CSOs) must first be able to function effectively and independently. Sustainability broadly refers to the ability of local civil society actors to overcome political, economic and environmental challenges, and become autonomous leaders in their context.

It is widely accepted that CSO sustainability is related to organisational capacity, revenue sources, and changes in external environments. In practice however, CSOs face a high number of complex challenges relating to their long-term effectiveness and viability.

Sustainability is also highly dependent on contextual factors, which affect CSO legitimacy, credibility and access to resources. In many cases, shrinking civil spaces and restrictive legislation has led to CSOs fearing for their survival, and for the safety of their staff. CSOs in conflict-affected countries such as DR Congo also face higher rates of donor fatigue, resulting in large reductions or removal of external funding, shifting donor priorities, and disproportionate investment in the humanitarian sector rather than other sectors. However, there are an increasing number of innovative approaches that CSOs have employed to combat these contextual challenges, including a focus on social enterprise and social investment.